Gang-saw mill



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1..

T. S. WILKIN. GANG SAW MILL.

110.410.6323. Patented Sept. 10, 1889.

N PETERS, Phnlo-Lhhognpher. Wzshinglcn, 0,1:

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. S. WILKIN.

GANG SAW MILL.

No. 410,623. Patented Sept. 10, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE S. WVILKIN, OF MILIVAUKEE, "WISCONSIN.

GANG-SAW MILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 410,623, datedSeptember 10, 1889.

Application filed March l 1889. Serial No. 301,692. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE S. WILKIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of\Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGang-Saw Mills, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to gang-saw mills; and it consists in thecombination, with a sash or frame, of a cranked shaft, a steam-cylinderand its piston, a pitman or pitmen connecting the piston with thecranked shaft, and a pitman or pitmen connecting the sash with saidshaft.

The object of the present invention is to produce a wide gang, secure aneconomical utilization of the power, and a steady and regular movementof the parts, thereby permitting good and rapid work without anytendency to the racking or twisting of the frame.

In the drawings, Figure I is a face view of my improved saw-mill, andFig. 2 a similar view of a slightly-modified arrangement of the same.

The main frame of the mill may be made of wood or iron, or bothcombined, and will of course be varied according to the style andcapacity of mill to be built and other considcrations.

The mill shown comprises uprights A A, a cap-plate B, and a bottom crossbar or plate 0.

E and F indicate, respectively, the upper and lower feed-rolls, G thesaw-frame, and II the saws carried thereby, all of which parts may be ofany desired form or construction, and capable of variation without inany way departing from the spirit of my invention.

I indicates a horizontal shaft mounted in suitable bearings in theuprights A A, pro vided with four cranks K K K K, the cranks K I" beingbetween the cranks K and K, and set diametrically opposite them.

Mounted upon a fixed part of the framework, preferably upon thecross-plate O, is a cylinder M, the piston-rod N of which extends fromthe bottom thereof and is @011- nected with a cross-head 0, which willadvisably, though not necessarily, be seated at its ends in guidesformed upon or secured to the inner faces of the uprights A A.

Pitmen Q Q connect the central cranks K K with the saw-frame G, whilepitmen R R connect the cranks K K with the crosshead 0, the said partsbeing so arranged relatively to each other that when the piston is atthe lower end of the cylinder the sash will be at its highest point.

The main ,shaft I will be provided with connections from which motion isimparted to the feed mechanism, an d will also be arranged so as tooperate the valve-stem V, by which the admission and emission of steamto and from the cylinder is controlled; but as these features form nopart of the present invention they are not shown in the figures.

Between the uprights A A the shaft I will be provided withbalance-wheels \V WV.

If the steam be admitted to the upper end of the cylinder, the pistonwill be forced down and will carry with it the cross-head and the pitmenR R, connecting the same with the cranked shaft. As the shaft is thusturned or rotated, the pitmen Q Q, connecting the said crank-shaft withthe saw-frame, carry said sawframe upward, and of course as soon as thepiston completes its movement and begins to return to the upper end ofthe cylinder the saw-sash will be carried downward.

By locating the cylinder directly beneath the shaft, as shown, thethrust is in the direction of the length of the frame, and there is lesstendency, therefore, to strain or twist the frame than under the priorplans. So, too, by mounting the piston upon the main frame I am enabledto make a very compact mill, thereby economizing in space, which is amatter of importance.

The cross-plate G will advisedly be provided with twodownwardly-extending frames A A, which have the same general directionas the side frames A A, and which serve as guides for the slidingcross-head 0.

It is obvious that so far as the arrangement of the cylinder andattendant parts is concerned the invention is susceptible of applicationto mills using narrower gangs and requiring but a three-crank shaft,such an arrangement being illustrated in Fig. 2, in which figure I haveshown the feed mechanism and valve-actuating mechanism, which areomitted from Fig. 1, and which form no part of this invention.

I do not wish to be understood as admitting'that the three-crank shaftshown in Fig. 2 is the equivalent of the construction shown in Fig. 1,except in the particulars above mentioned, for it is clear from actualuse of the four-crank mill that I am enabled to cut more than twice asmuch lumber per day as can be cut with a three-crank mill.

No claim is made herein to anything claimed in my pending applications,Serial Nos. 297,595 and 311,561.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is I. In a gang-sawmill, the combination, with a frame-work, of a reciprocating saw-sash, acranked shaft below but connected with the sash, a cylinder below theshaft, a piston working in the cylinder, and a connection between thepiston and cranked shaft.

2. In a gang-saw mill, the combination, with a frame-work, of a shaftprovided with two sets of cranks diametrically opposite each other, asaw-sash connected with one set of cranks, a cylinder, and a pistonworking in said cylinder and connected with the other set of cranks.

In agang-saw mill, the combi11ation,with a main frame, of a saw-frame, acranked shaft, a cylinder provided with a piston, a pitman or pitmenconnecting the saw-frame with the cranked shaft, and a pitman or pitmenconnecting the cranked shaft with the pistonrod.

4:. In a gang-saw mill, the combination, with the main frame, of asaw-frame, a cranked shaft journaled in the main frame, a cylindermounted directly beneath the shaft, a piston working within saidcylinder, a cross-head secured to the piston-rod, and a pitman or pitmenconnecting the cranked shaft with the cross-head, and an independentpitman connecting the saw-frame with tlre cranked shaft.

5. In a gang-saw mill, the combination, with the main frame, of asaw-frame, a cranked shaft journaled in the main frame and connectedwith the saw-frame by means of apitman, a cylinder located upon the mainframe beneath the shaft, a single piston working within said cylinderand having its rod extending from the lower end of said cylinder, across-head secured to the said piston-rod, and pitmen connecting thecross-head with the cranked shaft.

6. In a gang-saw mill, the combination, with a main frame, of areciprocating saw gate or frame, a cranked shaft journaled in the mainframe, a pitman connecting the saw-gate with the cranked shaft, across-bar 0, extending across the main frame near its lower end, acylinder mounted upon said cross-bar between the uprights A A of themain frame, a single piston working within said cylinder and having itsrod extending from the lower end thereof, a cross-head secured to saidpiston-rod, and pitmen connecting the cranked shaft with the cross-head,all substantially as THEODORE S. VVILKIN.

Witnesses:

WALTER S. DODGE, HORACE A. DODGE.

